In the known art, there has been widely utilized a linear rolling motion guide apparatus including a rail, a movable block moving longitudinally on the rail, and a plurality of balls (rolling members) disposed between the rail and movable block for moving the movable block at a high accuracy while being rotating and circulating (revolving) itself. More specifically, such linear rolling motion guide apparatus has been utilized for a support member supporting three-dimensional motion of a work-table of a machine tool or supporting a pendulum motion of a pendulum electric car, or for an aseismatic structure of a building or like.
According to the widening of such usable fields of the linear rolling motion guide apparatus, there is an increased request for prevention of faults or like of the linear rolling motion guide apparatus from causing, and therefore, it has been required to provide a method of diagnosing an operation or operating condition thereof at a high accuracy.
Incidentally, general diagnostic methods of operating conditions of conventionally general machine systems, excluding the linear rolling motion guide apparatus, (for example, rotational rolling bearing including ball bearings and like) include: a vibration detecting method of diagnosing the operating condition by monitoring a vibration generating condition in the machine system; an oil evaluation method of diagnosing the operating condition by evaluating a quality of a lubrication oil used in the machine system; an electric resistance method of diagnosing the operating condition by measuring an electric resistance between members driven through the lubrication oil in the machine system; or a temperature measuring method of diagnosing the operating condition by measuring the temperature driven through the lubrication oil in the machine system by utilizing a thermocouple.
However, in a case where these diagnostic methods are applied to the linear rolling motion guide apparatus, the following problems have been raised.
That is, in the case of the vibration detecting method, when used for a linear rolling motion guide apparatus in which the balls as rolling members revolves in a circulation path while being rotated itself, so that many vibration generating sources exist other than an abnormal vibration generating source, and hence, the vibration which should be naturally detected cannot be accurately detected, thus providing a problem.
Further, in the case of the oil evaluation method, it is necessary to take out, for inspection, a lubrication oil before use in the linear rolling motion guide apparatus and a lubrication oil after the use therein, respectively, from the linear rolling motion guide apparatus as a target apparatus to be diagnosed, which requires much time for obtaining the diagnosed result, and it is also necessary to take out the lubrication oil by once stopping the operation of the linear rolling motion guide apparatus, thus reducing the working efficiency, also providing a problem.
Furthermore, the cases of the electric resistance method and the temperature measuring method are both not suitable to electric noises, and in addition, in a case where the movable block is moved at a low speed, the measurement itself is difficult, thus also providing a problem.
Accordingly, as mentioned above, in the conventional methods, it is difficult to accurately diagnose the operation or operating conditions of the linear rolling motion guide apparatus in a real time.
Then, present invention was therefore conceived in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a condition-detecting device and a condition-detecting method capable of foreseeing generation of fault in a linear rolling motion guide apparatus by accurately detecting an operation condition in a real time in the linear rolling motion guide apparatus, improving maneuverability, for user, of the linear rolling motion guide apparatus, elongating a usable life time and contributing to the quality improvement of devices or machineries incorporated with the linear rolling motion guide apparatus, to provide a program for the condition detection, and to provide an information recording medium in which the condition detection program is recorded to be readable by a computer.